Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Weird.

When I came home from work last night, I walked across the kitchen to turn on the light and found a random picture of some middle-aged man placed very neatly on top of one burner on my stove.  I didn't put it there, and I have no idea who the man is.  Cue creepy music.

(Somehow this being the picture made it all the more creepy... Hello sex-offender registry.)


In reality it was nothing. My landlord had been over looking at my fridge (which is toast, and currently my freezer is housing some very thawed, very raw meat... yuck!), and most things near it had been moved out of the way.  Given the date stamp on the back of the picture and the thick layer of dust, it was no doubt found behind the fridge.

(I did, however, subsequently check all possible hiding places in my apartment, just to reassure myself. I'm only recently to the point where I can use a bathroom if the shower curtain is closed. I'm a little bit of a pansy.)

I have been a bit skittish these days, though. There's been a stabbing, a couple muggings, and some apartment break-ins near where I work, and I'm reminded that in tough economic times, things are not likely to get safer.  Not to be a downer, just a reminder for everyone to be careful.


P.S. This was my car a while back. Broken into three weeks after I moved here, actually... my own personal welcome to Atlanta! Moral of this story? Be careful where you park in certain neighborhoods when you go out to eat.

Oh, and that it takes the Atlanta PD approximately 90 minutes to respond and take a 15 second statement, leaving you to sit and wait in a not-so-great neighborhood nearing midnight. Luckily I had friends waiting with me. I also have never eaten in that neighborhood since :)

Monday, March 23, 2009

Welcome, spring.

In honor of the first day of spring on Friday (well, not actually in honor of, it was more correlation than causation), I went camping with some friends up in the "mountains" by the Georgia/North Carolina border. The official season change was a significant psychological barrier for me, though, as I don't really comprehend the idea of winter camping.

In reality that one day made little difference, it was still 28 degrees overnight (I checked). Yes, I voluntarily slept in a tent in 28 degree weather (in my defense, weather.com predicted 34). I slept in two layers of clothing, plus warm socks, plus a hoodie, plus a 0 degree mummy bag, plus two extra blankets. Overkill, you might think. But, I was just about right. Maybe a bit on the chilly side a couple times during the night when the blankets slid off.

This is why I do not camp in winter. Welcome, spring.



(Also, apologies for no pictures.  My camera battery was dead.  I blame the sub-freezing temperature.)